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Friday, May 01, 2009

"90210": It's had a pretty interesting (and scandalous) season so far, but let's be honest, the CW doesn't have a great track record for keeping the kids thoroughly entertained. However, if "Gossip Girl" can get renewed in spite of its less than 2 million viewership, then why not give the legendary zip code another season to stir up trouble. I'm hearing that a male character is going to die and someone's going to sleep with Naomi's bad boy. My bet's on Annie, even though it's clear that since Naomi's older sister de-virginated Ethan, it could be her too.

"Big Bang Theory": The comedy series finally hit its stride, garnering cult fans who worship at the geek altar of Sheldon and ogle Penny without shame. Soon Leonard will learn something about Penny's feelings for him that'll change everything.

"Friday Night Lights": Yeah it's true that most of the characters are graduating from high school and the series itself (Scott Porter and Brian Williams are done for good, while Minka Kelly scored her own series), but next season Coach Taylor is in charge of a brand new team of B-grade players that'll go up against the beloved Panthers. The tension between him and that prick Joe McCoy will be thick enough to saw through. Can't wait!!

"Fringe": Apparently, mysterious "X-Files"-type vignettes are very much loved by viewers, so it's no surprise how well the series is doing. I just hope they don't move it to Wednesday to try to compete with "Lost." Soon we'll see more secrets from Peter's past and the experiments done on Olivia as a child.

"Heroes": There was heavy speculation that because of the crappy last chapter in the saga fans would never return to the series. But with Sylar having been brainwashed into permanently appearing and behaving like Nathan, becoming a proverbial ticking time bomb until he resurfaces enraged, there's no way they won't watch next season. The next chapter has been dubbed "Redemption" and word is Tracy's (Ali Larter) revenge against the men who hunted her will be at its core. Hopefully, the rumors of a new villain being introduced aren't in reference to her. It's not that I can't be frightened by a girl. Gretchen on "Prison Break" and the liquid Terminator on "Sarah Connor Chronicles" are plenty scary. I was just hoping for new blood, perhaps with an even more terrifying power...if that's possible.

"Lie to Me": I enjoy tuning in every week to learn new ways of identifying liars, as apparently do the millions of viewers who have made it one of the most popular scripted series on the network. After watching this week's episode and realizing that Dr. Lightman's relationship with Gillian is going nowhere fast, I hope next season we're introduced to yet another protege, perhaps one with more quirk. Yeah, more quirk. See "Bones" is fun to watch not only because of the odd cases, but because of the characters. They need more of that—interesting character-driven scenes. I prefer the human lie detectors catching each other in a lie over random strangers.

"One Tree Hill": I personally find this television series unbelievably annoying and would really appreciate it if they'd relinquish Sophia Bush so she can go on to do bigger and better things. However, I admit that it has a way of sucking you in and reviving itself every time you think it's down for the count. That said, how about they make the next season the last? Really send 'em off with a bang...preferrably without a real gun.

"Private Practice": *Sigh* I can't believe this show is still on the air. I love Cooper and Violet, and I really thought they'd use more of Chris Lowell's (Dell) ability to be hilarious, but it's just been a huge disappointment overall. Who knows? Maybe the next time there's a crossover episode with "Grey's Anatomy" I'll actually be interested in the other half of the plot.

"Smallville": I sort of gave up on this series a few seasons ago, but I got re-hooked after they started getting closer and closer to the actual Superman lore. Lois and Jimmy were introduced and it was starting to look like we might get a glimpse of him in a cape or bursting out of a phone booth. Granted, we haven't gotten there quite yet and because of copywright laws we probably won't get there completely, but Lana is finally out of the picture, Lois is inching towards telling Clark how much she loves him, and...well, I don't know what the hell Jimmy is doing—other than totally going off script—but Doomsday is an unbelievably terrifying nemesis and I can't wait for the showdown.

"Southland": It's a little too gritty for me, but I guess viewers are enjoying the new police procedural format. It's a little more realistic and seems totally off the cuff—a nice change of pace for those avid "Law & Order" and "CSI" viewers.

"Til Death": No words. Jim Belushi must have a fairy godproducer up in the Hollywood clouds, cause there's no reason why this show should be renewed.

"Ugly Betty": It was touch-and-go there for a second, but Betty's back!! And word is she's bringing the drama with her. Not only is Henry returning to NYC to stir up some trouble with his new girlfriend, but someone's going to die—as in fall-out-of-a-window-and-onto-a-car die. In Scream 2, Sarah Michelle Gellar plays a sorority girl who gets pushed out of a second floor balcony and I always laugh at how long she screams. I hope whoever gets shoved out of Meade Publications milks it for all it's worth, cause it's quite a drop. But that's not all that's juicy to tell. Chances are Christina might be the bio-mom of Wilhelmina's baby and Rachel Dratch ("SNL") is guest-starring as an editor with a twin (perhaps evil). Also next season, the producers are saying Hilda will take a brief backseat since she's currently pregnant in real life, Justin will have a full-blown gay high school relationship (fingers crossed that it'll be with Zac Efron and involve a musical, lol), and both Mark and Amanda will get steady lovers as well.